KK JANGIR at 09:11, 15 April 2026

2026-04-15T09:11:01Z

New page

{{Short description|Palace in Jodhpur, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur
| native_name = उम्मैद भवन पैलेस
| native_name_lang = hi
| image = 1996 -218-20A Jodhpur Hotel Umaid Bhawan Palace (2233393509).jpg
| image_size = 270px
| caption = Front [[façade]] of the Umaid Bhawan Palace
| location_town = [[Jodhpur]], [[Rajasthan]]
| location_country = India
| completion_date = 1943
| architect = Henry Lanchester and [[Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob]]
| owner = [[Gaj Singh]]
| cost =
| structural_system = Golden yellow or dun-coloured sandstone
| client =
| logo =
| logo_size = 200px
| latitude =
| longitude =
| engineer = [[Henry Vaughan Lanchester]]
| construction_start_date = 1928
| demolished_date =
| architectural_style = [[Indo-Saracenic Architecture]]
| size =
}}
'''Umaid Bhawan Palace''' ({{langx|hi|उम्मैद भवन पैलेस}}), located in [[Jodhpur]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]], is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by [[Taj Hotels]]. It is named after [[Umaid Singh|Maharaja Umaid Singh]], grandfather of the present owner, [[Gaj Singh]]. The palace has 347 rooms and is the principal residence of the former Jodhpur royal family. A part of the palace is a museum.

The groundbreaking for the foundations of the building was carried out on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943.

==History==
[[File:HAL Tejas (LA-5022) of Squadron No. 18 being flown by Vice chief AP Singh during Ex Tarangshakti24.jpg|thumb|[[HAL Tejas|Tejas]] flying above Ummaid Bhawan Palace]]
[[File:"The Making of Umaid Bhawan Palace".jpg|thumb|"The Making of Umaid Bhawan Palace"]]
The history of building the Umaid Bhawan Palace is linked to a curse by a saint who had said that a period of drought would follow the good rule of the [[Jodhpur State|Rathore Dynasty]]. Thus, after the end of the about 50-year reign of Pratap Singh, Jodhpur faced severe drought and famine in the 1920s for a period of three consecutive years. The farmers of the area, faced with this hardship, sought the help of the then [[Maharaja]], Umaid Singh,{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}} who was the 37th Rathore ruler of [[Marwar]] at Jodhpur,{{Sfn|Katritzki|2005|p=107}} to provide them with some employment so that they could survive the harsh conditions. The Maharaja, in order to help the farmers, decided to build a lavish palace. He commissioned [[Henry Vaughan Lanchester]] as the architect to prepare the plans for the palace; Lanchester was a contemporary of [[Edwin Lutyens]], who had planned [[Secretariat Building, New Delhi|the buildings of the New Delhi government complex]]. Lanchester patterned the Umaid Palace on the lines of the New Delhi building complex by adopting the theme of domes and columns.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}} The palace was designed as a blend of western technology and Indian architectural features.{{Sfn|Katritzki|2005|p=107}}

The palace was built at a slow pace as its initial objective was to provide employment to the famine-stricken farmers in the area. The foundation stone was laid in 1929. About 2,000 to 3,000 people were employed in its construction.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123-24}} Occupation of the palace by the Maharaja came after its completion in 1943, and close to the period of [[Indian Independence Movement|Indian Independence]]. There was some criticism for embarking on an expensive project but it had served the main purpose of helping the citizens of Jodhpur to face the famine situation.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}} The estimated cost of building the palace was [[Indian Rupee|Rs]] 11 million.{{Sfn|Brown|Thomas|2008|p=306}} When it opened in 1943 it was considered one of the largest royal residences in the world.{{Sfn|Katritzki|2005|p=107}}

[[File:Umaid bhavan Palace, Jodhpur.jpg|thumb|Umaid Bhawan Palace as seen from [[Mehrangarh Fort]]]]
The site chosen for the palace was on a hill known as Chittar hill in the outer limits of Jodhpur,{{Sfn|Vinnels|Skelly|2002|p=245}} after which the palace is also known,{{Sfn|Singh|2010|p=233}} where no water supply was available nearby and hardly any vegetation grew as hill slopes were rocky. The building material required was not close by as sandstone quarries were at quite a distance. Since the Maharaja had the foresight to bring his project to fruition, he built a railway line to the quarry site to transport the building material. Donkeys were inducted to haul soil to the site. The sandstone transported by rail was dressed at the site into large blocks with interlocking joints so that they could be laid without the use of mortar.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}}

The palace was built with "dun-coloured" (golden – yellow) sandstone with two wings. [[Makrana]] marble has also been used, and Burmese teak wood has been used for the interior woodwork.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}}{{Sfn|Brown|Thomas|2008|p=306}} When completed the palace had 347 rooms, several courtyards, and a large banquet hall which could accommodate 300 people. The architectural style is considered representing the then in vogue [[Beaux Arts style]], also known as Indo-Deco style. However, for many years the palace did not fully function following tragic events in the royal family. Umaid Singh who stayed in the place for only four years died in 1947. [[Hanwant Singh]] who succeeded him also died at a young age; he had just won in the [[Elections in India|1952 General Elections]] and was returning home after this win when his plane crashed and he died. [[Gaj Singh|Gaj Singh II]] who succeeded his father then decided in 1971 to convert a part of the palace into a hotel.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}}

==Features==
The Palace is divided into three functional parts – the residence of the royal family, a luxury [[Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces|Taj Palace Hotel]], and a Museum focusing on the 20th-century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}}

===Palace===
[[File:Umaid Bhawan Palace.jpg|thumb|800px|center|{{center|A panoramic view of the Palace.}}]]
[[File:Mural Inside Umaid Bhava Palace.png|thumb|Painting (''[[Fresco]]'') inside Umaid Bhavan Palace, depicting the war between Mughals and [[Durgadas Rathore]] with the [[Mehrangarh|Mehrangarh fort]] in the backdrop.]]
The palace complex is set in an area of {{Convert|26|acre}} of land including {{Convert|15|acre}} of gardens. The palace consists of a throne chamber, a private meeting hall, a [[Durbar Hall]] to meet the public, a vaulted [[banquet hall]], private dining halls, a ballroom, a library, an indoor swimming pool and spa, a billiards room, four tennis courts, two marble squash courts,{{Sfn|Katritzki|2005|p=107}} and long passages.{{Sfn|Nath|Holmes|Holmes|Paschira|2008|loc=review}}

The interior central dome sits above the sky blue inner dome. The inner vaulted dome is a major attraction in the palace which rises to {{Convert|103|ft}} in the interior part which is capped by an outer dome of {{Convert|43|ft}} height. The entry to the palace has decorations of the [[Coat of arms]] of the Rathore Royal family. The entry leads to the lobby which has polished [[black granite]] flooring. The lounge area has pink sandstone and marble floors.{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}} Maharaja Gaj Singh, known as "bapji", stays in a part of the palace. The principal architecture of the palace is an amalgam of [[Indo-Saracenic|Rajput-Saracenic]], [[Classical Revival]] and [[Art Deco|Western Art Deco]] styles. It is also said{{by whom|date=July 2018}} the Maharaja and his architect Lanchester had considered the features of [[Buddhist]] and [[Hindu]] edifices such as the Temple Mountain-Palaces of [[Burma]] and [[Cambodia]], and in particular the [[Angkor Wat]] in preparing the layout and design of the palace.{{Sfn|Vinnels|Skelly|2002|p=245}} The interior of the palace is in art deco design.{{Sfn|Singh|2010|p=233}} The interior decoration is credited to [[Stefan Norblin de la Gourdaine|J.S. Norblin]], a refugee from [[Poland]], who created the [[frescoes]] in the throne room on the east wing. An architectural historian commented that "it is the finest example of Indo-deco. The forms are crisp and precise".{{Sfn|Betts|McCulloch|2013|p=130}}

===Hotel===
The hotel wing of the palace is run by the Taj Group of Hotels and is called the 'Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur. {{Sfn|Katritzki|2005|p=107}}{{Sfn|Bentley|2011|p=123}} [[Bollywood]] actress [[Priyanka Chopra]] married [[Nick Jonas]] here in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-46412696|title=Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas marry in India|access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>

===Museum===
[[File:Umaid Bhawan Palace-Museum.JPG|thumb|Inside the museum of Umaid Bhawan Palace]]
The museum has exhibits of stuffed leopards, a very large symbolic flag given to [[Jaswant Singh II|Maharaja Jaswant Singh]] by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1877, lighthouse shapes.{{Sfn|Brown|Thomas|2008|p=306}} The classic cars of the Maharajas are also on display in the garden in front of the museum.

==See also==
* [[Rajput architecture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Bentley |first=Cheryl |title=A Guide to the Palace Hotels of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U66zJaDjumwC&pg=PT123 |date=2011 |publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc |isbn=978-1-58843-970-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Betts |first1=Vanessa |last2=McCulloch |first2=Victoria |title=India – The North: Forts, Palaces, the Himalaya Dream Trip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-pUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 |date=2013 |publisher=Footprint Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-907263-74-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Lindsay |last2=Thomas |first2=Amelia |title=Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra. Ediz. Inglese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz0_zXPb68kC&pg=PA306 |year=2008 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-690-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Katritzki |first=Freda |title=The World of Private Castles, Palaces and Estates |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5If8DYt6-8C&pg=PA107 |publisher=Chateaux Prives |isbn=978-2-9524142-1-0 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Nath |first1=Aman |last2=Holmes |first2=Fred R. |last3=Holmes |first3=Anna Newton |last4=Paschira |first4=Amit |title=Jodhpur's Umaid Bhawan: The Maharaja of Palaces: a Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_FcPgAACAAJ |year=2008 |publisher=India Book House |isbn=978-81-7508-511-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Singh |first=Sarina |title=Lonely Planet India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vK88ktao7pIC&pg=PA233 |date=2010 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74220-347-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Vinnels |first1=David |last2=Skelly |first2=Brent |title=Bollywood showplaces: cinema theatres in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TexkAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=E & E Plumridge in collaboration with Decorum Books |isbn=9780951656358 }}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{The Leading Hotels of the World|Asia}}
{{Jodhpur}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|26|16|51|N|73|02|49|E|region:IN_type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Rajput architecture]]
[[Category:Royal residences in India]]
[[Category:Palaces in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Hotels in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Museums in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Heritage hotels in India]]
[[Category:Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces]]
[[Category:History museums in India]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1943]]
[[Category:1943 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Tourism in Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Sandstone buildings in India]]

Umaid Bhawan Palace - Revision history

KK JANGIR at 09:11, 15 April 2026